To Today
by x-kaboom
Summary: Are you really happy for today? Kikumaru rethinks about his reason for playing tennis: he discovers his true wings in the court. :] ONESHOT.


A/N: It's kind of hard to understand the real meaning behind this fanfiction though, so good luck, and if you understand it, I applaud you greatly. I'm sorry if I made Kikumaru too emo, or anything of the sort. Prince of Tennis belongs to Takeshi Konomi (spelling), and luckily, not me. Enjoy, and sorry for any mistakes grammatically or literature-wise. (And is it just me, or does not allow any sort of time breaks?)

**To Today.**

For the longest time, all Kikumaru Eiji would ever dream about was flying. He didn't care how and he didn't care when, as long as eventually, he'd be soaring in the sky: higher than anyone else, happier than anyone else.

But after all, it was still a dream. And a dream is a dream. It wouldn't ever come true, not ever.

Still, Kikumaru wasn't the type of person who would just give up on his dreams. He kept on thinking, kept on wishing, that eventually, some magical fairy would come and grant his wish.

And so, he waited.

He waited so that one day, _maybe_ just one day, his dream might come true.

"Eiji!" A voice shouted over the roar of the subway train. Kikumaru's still half awake eyes fluttered open to glance at who had called for him.

"Oi, Oishi," He responded, attempting to sound energetic. He half waved his arm to him for a greeting. "Good morning!"

"Still tired?" He took a seat next to the stretching and yawning red head. "I'm sure you'll liven up by practice though."

"You're right." And Kikumaru placed his head in his hands and sighed. "I should-nya!" He immediately lifted his head and placed a smile on his face.

"Don't make it seem so forced, Eiji!" Oishi joked, and then handed him a bottle of orange juice. "Here."

Laughing, Kikumaru grinned at his dear friend, and stood up. His hand was held firmly on the rail to keep his balance. "I'm not forcing it! See, I really am happy for today!" He snatched the juice from Oishi's hand, and opened the bottle to take a sip. "To today! Nya!"

"To today." Oishi replied as they both took a huge gulp of juice.

Tennis meant a lot of things to Kikumaru, but most of the time what tennis really meant to him wasn't the racket and the tension, but how close he was to flying. Every time he'd walk into a court with Oishi, he'd feel just one step closer to fulfilling his wish. He felt like his dream was so reachable, so near, that it almost hurt when he would leave the court, and enter reality again

In the court, he could do anything he wanted. His style was his style, and no one could change that. However he wanted to play, there were no limits to it. His acrobatics were his wings, and he would fly anywhere he wanted to.

Or, that might've been what he thought.

"Listen up! Play one on one with someone else!" Tezuka ordered, facing each of his team mates.

Practice had indefinitely begun, and the Seigaku regulars, who moments ago were just chatting with each other, hurriedly began scanning around for a challenging rival to go against. However, with just a glance at each other's eyes, Kikumaru and Oishi knew exactly who they wanted to play against.

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" Oishi pointed out as he picked up his racket.

"Yup! Sure has!" Kikumaru replied, picking up his racket as well, but heading towards the other side of the court.

"Ready, Oishi?" He held the racket firmly and raised it high above his head.

"Ready."

The tennis ball was served over immediately, and Oishi returned it without difficulty to an empty part of the court. It didn't matter though, and he knew it. Kikumaru returned it again without even breaking a sweat. His hand went nonchalantly behind his back, and his swing sent the ball flying back towards Oishi.

"Having fun, Eiji?" He managed to throw in between shots.

"Uh-huh! Feel's like I'm flying!-nya!"

"Flying?" Oishi didn't quite understand.

"Yup, Flying!"

Kikumaru opened his eyes to find himself holding his tennis racket again, and flying high in the air. Oishi stood beside him (well, flying beside him). He looked down to see the court far below and surprisingly, no else was around except for two blackened out opponents across from them. At the same time, just as he was able to grasp his situation, the tennis ball sped towards him, only to eventually be missed.

"I'm really flying!" He exclaimed, turning his head towards Oishi. "And you're too!"

"So this is what you dream about?" Oishi replied, chuckling a bit, but out of pure kindness. "That's why you said you felt like flying?"

"Uh-huh! But I never thought I'd actually fly! Well," He paused for a moment, and then smiled at his friend. "I was always just one step away, but now I'm here! And you're here with me too!"

"I'm glad you're happy, Eiji. But, you really shouldn't force yourself too much."

"Force myself?"

"This morning, you didn't seem that happy."

"That's cause I was tired!"

"And are you _really_ happy for today?"

"I am." Kikumaru smiled again. After all, why wouldn't he? His dream finally came true, and his partner was even here to witness it! "Aren't you?"

"Maybe." He slightly muttered, under his breath, and faded away into the air.

"Maybe?" Kikumaru managed to choke out. He could see the setting around him begin to darken. He glanced down once again, only to see nothing but unending darkness. He peered across the court, but couldn't see anything as well.

He stood there, infinitely confused and wondering what had happened.

Then, all of a sudden, he began to fall. The plunge seemed to last forever, falling into that darkness, and he closed his eyes in surrender.

And when he opened them again, he found himself sitting up in his bed, listening to his own thumping heartbeat.

He was lost, he was confused. He was everything except for understanding. Usually, all of his dreams would end up to be about flying one way or the other, but never like this. Kikumaru had never dreamed that he'd fall, whether Oishi was there or not.

But it seemed so real. He could still remember the conversation in his head.

_"Are you _really_ happy for today?"_

_"I am, aren't you?"_

_"Maybe."_

What could Oishi possibly have meant by that? He thought for a moment that he was probably just thinking too much about it. It was just a dream, after all.

Then again, Kikumaru wasn't the type of person that would just give up on their dreams.

Even though, the reality of it freaked him out, it really did. How did his whole world collapse as Oishi disappeared? How did he suddenly plunge down, inside of floating happily in the air? Why had all of it happened?

"Am I _really_ happy for today?" He silently asked himself as he stood up to face the opening train door.

"Same routine as yesterday guys, just make sure you practice enough." Tezuka announced again at practice, giving the regulars enough time to warm up.

Since getting off the train, Kikumaru decided to push the whole ordeal away, and temporarily seal away those questions, but it was no use. Still, he was at practice now, and it always made him happier than usual.

"Eiji! Want to finish our game from tomorrow?" It was Oishi, who had at last noticed his slightly 'not-as-hyper' attitude. "We tied yesterday and I figured that we should finish today."

At first, Kikumaru didn't hear him. He was thinking about what the dream Oishi had said. _Are you really happy for today?_

"Are you okay?" Worried about his friend's situation, Oishi sat down on the bench next to Kikumaru. "Want to play singles against me?" He asked again, hoping to get a reply.

_Singles against me…_ Suddenly, it all came through to him. He was wrong all along. The acrobatics weren't his wings…it was something else. He realized it so quickly that he was amazed that he hadn't realized it earlier: the reason why he fell down when Oishi had disappeared. "That's it!" He suddenly shouted out, jumping up in final amazement.

"That's it?" The other boy was really worried now. "Is something wrong, Eiji?"

"Hmm?" He seemed to finally notice him. "Nothing really!"

Oishi raised a dubious eyebrow. He wasn't quite sure his friend was really being truthful, but after a few hyper responses, and reassurances from the jumpy regular, Oishi was finally convinced. "So, you want to play singles then?"

"Singles against you?"

"Yeah, to finish our game from yesterday."

"Nope!" Kikumaru responded quickly, shaking his head and picking up his racket.

"No?" Oishi was quite surprised by his response. "Why not?"

"'Cause then I won't be able to fly." He gave a big grin at Oishi's confused expression.

"You...won't be able to fly?"

"Yeah, I need you to fly." He spoke out confidently, leaving Oishi with an even more vexed look on his face. "Now, let's go ask Fuji and Taka-san to play some doubles with us!-nya!"

"Uh, sure?" Oishi quickly stuttered out, still somewhat shocked by what he just heard.

"And Oishi?" Kikumaru turned around, giving his friend the biggest smile he'd given in ages. "_I am happy for today_."


End file.
